Fast Band-Sweep Total Isotropic Sensitivity Measurement

Abstract

To provide consistent measurements of radio performance in typical complex environments, the total isotropic sensitivity (TIS) is used as a key parameter measured in anechoic chambers. Currently, the TIS measurement is based on the integration of the measured effective isotropic sensitivity at every angle over a spherical surface. This measurement is time consuming so it is only performed for three channels in a band in order to reduce overall measurement time. However, the whole band performance in real environments is critical in the research and development stage, and even in potential certification measurement. A novel fast band-sweep measurement for TIS of wireless devices is proposed in this paper. This method measures the radiated sensitivity and the average gain of the receiver antenna separately, and then combines them to obtain the TIS. The measurement of the radiated sensitivity in a band is efficiently performed based on the relationship between the bit error rate and the received power, and the band-sweep average gain of mobile antennas can be achieved through peak gain measurements. Hence, this method reduces band-sweep measurement time significantly and also ensues the measurement accuracy by eliminating the systematic error in the received signal strength indicator reporting.